


Never Let Me Go

by Chaebol



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Drama, F/M, Kazuo Ishiguro, M/M, Multi, Never Let Me Go - Freeform, Persona5, Romance, Sci-Fi, Spin-Off
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 17:53:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10995951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaebol/pseuds/Chaebol
Summary: Based of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, the story takes place in that AU.





	1. Miharu Koshi and Haruomi Hosono - Swing Slow (1996)

**Author's Note:**

> Its my first time writing a fic in a while. I hope you enjoy it!

 

_The breakthrough in medical science came in 1952._

_Doctors could now cure the previously incurable._

_By 1967, life expectancy exceeded past 100 years._

 

“Ryuji.”

“Yeah?”

 

Ann paused in thought. Her shoulders eventually slumped over as she brought her knees to her chest, patting down her skirt so the other kids who took turns running laps around the field couldn’t see her shorts. During these moments, Ryuji would blush and abashedly tease her in a mean manner due to his embarrassment for being caught staring at Ann.

However, he became less rowdy and talkative after he had broken his leg and had been kicked out of the track team. His right leg was now in a black cast, and his face sullen and missing of a smile that Ann had grown accustomed to. She hated change- she figures that this one was the worst she's had to go through. The spaces around his eyes had grown somewhat darker as the weeks went by. Ann assumes that he hasn't gotten much sleep since his removal from the track team. 

The bench that the both of them always sat on, felt emptier on Ann’s left. It was as if he wasn’t even there. 

 

“Why did you like to run?” Ryuji turns to look at her and purses his lips. Ann immediately regrets her decision to ask him so.

“Because it always feels like I’m running away from the people in the centre I came from.” His frame shrinks a little.

“They, the staff, I mean- always thought I was uglier as compared to the other children. Maybe it's because I was scrawnier than the rest, so they thought that I wasn't too physically desirable to possible academies. It also made sense that they didn't like me since I could think for myself, being as loud and mischievous as I am. So one day, one of the carers who were in charge of me decided that I shouldn’t live, and he took a steel pipe and tried to smash my head in.

“When the other carers came to my cell and found me, they sat there laughing for a while before sending me off to the ER. Eventually, I turned eight and got boarded off here because they recognised my talent on the field, probably thinking that I did have some use to the world.”

 

Ann suddenly notices the huge scar on the back of his head and brings her small hand to touch it. She feels the pink bumps of the still-healing tissue underneath her fingertips- and tries her hardest not to tear up at the realisation that dawned upon her. 

 

“So that’s why they called you Skull when they dropped you off here.”

 

Ryuji doesn’t make a comment and Ann slides a hand into his, as the both of them resume watching the rest of their classmates pass batons to each other, running as fast as they could but not realizing how trivial things like running could be since in this life, nothing they did really matter at all. Perhaps it was because the rest couldn't see that their lives were destined to burn out like the sparklers they got every fifth cycle (normal time did not exist within the Shujin Academy grounds) on Celebration Day when they 'grew up.'

The panels in the space above them showed a beautiful blue sky, but in reality, the students already knew that these were just projections and that they're not really in the outside world. They weren't allowed to leave and were mostly sated by stories about former students who tried to leave, but had their attempts futile as they crossed the border around the academy. A guy who jumped over and was found bound to a tree with his legs and hands cut off. A girl who starved to death outside the academy's gates because they wouldn't let her in.

A guy who jumped over and was found bound to a tree with his legs and hands cut off. A girl who starved to death outside the academy's gates because they wouldn't let her in. Stories that turned into quiet and blind truths if any students dared to escape. 

 

"Hey, look over there." Ryuji suddenly quips.

 

Ann looks over to where Ryuji is pointing and notices that their headmaster is standing at the field's entrance, with a small boy with dark, curly hair in hand. The both of them notice that he has round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and that his new uniform looks oddly loose on him. They smile at the boy when they realise that he is smiling right back at them. The children's faces brighten up noticeably. 

 

"Ryuji, I think we've found ourselves a new friend."

"Oh yeah!"

 

The headmaster eventually turns away from the field, leading the new student away with him. The both of them wave at him, but he does not see them.


	2. Haruomi Hosono & Friends - Pacific (1978)

 

 

_Diseases such as lung cancer and motor neurone diseases ceased to exist._

_The black market exponentially took over the world's health economy._

_Trade became the world's mode of business._

 

 

The scenery passes by him like a river, as he watches the city go by from behind a plastic window. The train shakes every so slightly, but the world remains blurry, just like his memories. The snow flurries past and he can almost feel the chill, though the train is heated manually but maybe just not enough.

Akira spots a small light amidst the darkness, it is probably a lampost, but he is suddenly overwhelmed with emotion from a memory that had suddenly come to mind.

 

"Makoto."

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember that day?"

 

Makoto closes her book and sets it aside on her lap.

 

"Which? There are so many, that I can't recall them well anymore."

"When we were twelve and we got into trouble for running around for playing tag?"

 

"Oh." Makoto blinks wearily. She has an inkling of where this conversation was heading. 

 

"You mean, Revelation Day?" She enquiries rather carefully.

"Yeah. That day."

 

Silence follows for a few minutes before Akira begins to speak again.

 

"Kawakami sensei said something that I never forgot, even until now."

"What was it?"

"'All children have to be deceived if they are to grow up without trauma.'"

 

* * *

 

_A virtual thunderstorm surrounds the academy, as flashes of lightning and the roaring of thunder booms across the metallic panelled sky._

 

_Sadayo Kawakami was a replacement teacher brought in from Tokyo- the outside world._

_She was a sensible and caring woman, who was kind but had a rather melancholic air about her, especially when she was out and about in the courtyard when the rest of the students would have their break, usually playing sports._

 

_A strong wind swept across the classroom from the half-open windows, but Kawakami made no move to close them. She stares at the solemnly and takes a deep breath before telling her students something that would change their lives forever._

 

_"None of you will go to America, none of you will be film stars. And none of you will be working in supermarkets as I heard some of you planning the other day." She said rather abruptly, followed by a moment of silence._

_"Your lives are set out for you. You’ll become adults, then before you’re old, before you’re even middle-aged, you’ll start to donate your vital organs. That’s what each of you was created to do. You’re not like the actors you watch on your videos, you’re not even like me. You were brought into this world for a purpose, and your futures, all of them, have been decided. So you’re not to talk that way anymore. You’ll be leaving Shujin before long, and it’s not so far off, the day you’ll be preparing for your first donations. You need to remember that. If you’re to have decent lives, you have to know who you are and what lies ahead of you, every one of you."_

 

_Her lesson plans fly off the table, and onto the ground. Ryuji picks them up._

 

_Her hands are clasped as if she were in prayer, as she slumped against the wall with tears in her eyes. The students are confused, but do nothing to stop her crying. Eventually, she leaves on her own after she had packed up her things._

 

_The class ended shortly after that._

 

* * *

 

Makoto chuckles and the bitterness of the thought. Akira finds himself smiling along and he looks out of the window yet again. He spots the tiny street lights leading roads to a place neither he, Makoto or anyone from Shujin could've gone to.

 

"I think we were far too young to have caught on to what she said." She says, matter-of-factly.

"Well, someone certainly did."

 

"Ah."

"It was the day Shiho jumped off the school rooftop and died too." 

 

Akira runs a hand through his hair and thought about the young and bright girl who was one of Ann's best friends at Shujin. The day after the revelation and Shiho's death, Kawakami got sacked and was efficiently replaced by someone else in the following week. It was an emotional week since Ryuji had been rather close to her and Ann was shaken up by Shiho's death. Their friendship turned rocky but eventually eased by the time they were 18 years old. Luckily for them, it was not too late. 

 

They were almost reaching Shibuya, where their next hospital would be.

Makoto continues to read her book, and Akira begins to drift off as the low rumbling of the train carriage took him to a dream where he was in a Volkswagon with his old friends from the cottages, where they had driven off far away for a vacation, instead of a ride to their own completions.


	3. Haruomi Hosono - Omni Sight Seeing (1989)

 

                                                        

_Japan preceded Britain’s methods of human cloning._

_Cloning was then used for experimentation._

_Today,_ _human clones are created for organ harvesting._

_This has led to an international outcry from pro-life citizens all over the world._

 

 

It was a normal day out in the city, as Haru Okumura sat in the backseat of her father's town car limousine, being chartered off to wherever she needed to be. 

 

Behind these tinted windows, she watches a young boy sitting in the park all by himself as the car stops to a halt. Her driver tells her to stay where she is, and she complies. As he leaves, she pays attention to how lonely yet peaceful the boy seemed, with his legs tangled as he paints on a piece of newspaper with a brush and a bottle of ink. Feeling a little adventurous, she looks around the surroundings of the car and carefully opens the car door, and sneaks her way to the field, where the boy is. 

Up close, she notices how his hair glimmers under the soft sunlight, and she is compelled to talk to him. Stealthy as she is, she stalks over to him from behind and musters up enough courage to talk to him.

 

"Hello." She says, quietly.

 

The boy looks up and is for a moment, very startled. His eyes widen as huge as saucers and he scrambles for his things as he moves away from Haru.

 

"Who are you?" He questions wearily.

"I am Haru Okumura."

"Okay." he deadpans. After a moment, Haru begins to enquire about him again.

 

"What is your name?"

"Yusuke."

"Yusuke what?"

 

Yusuke shrugs and looks a little out of place under Haru's shadow.

 

"I don't know. I just go by Yusuke."

"Don't you have a mummy or daddy?"

"No. I don't think so."

 

Haru doesn't know how to respond, so she bends down to look at what Yusuke was drawing instead, and sees a painting of a fox- albeit it being a little smudged from him freaking out when Haru had approached him. She picks up the painting and smiles softly; It was rather lovely. Yusuke blushes and hangs his head down with humility. 

 

"I come out here to paint them when we're supposed to be asleep."

"Where do you come from? Does everyone need to be asleep the same time from there?"

"From Kosei, and yes, we all have to sleep together."

"That sounds rather silly."

 

Yusuke grins for a moment and Haru blushes.

 

"If I come here, will I see you again?"

 

Yusuke opens his mouth to respond but hears a man shouting out Haru's name. In a flash, he runs off and leaves Haru the painting he had just made. She picks it up and calmly walks back to her vehicle, where she is met with a sweaty and pale-faced driver who frantically checks Haru for any injuries.

 

"Where did you go?"

"To the field."

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Where did you get this painting from?"

"I found it."

 

Her driver takes it away from her hand, crumples it up and throws it onto the ground. He ushers her back into the limousine- but she is quick enough to retrieve it before they speed off to her father's office.

 

* * *

 

_"Daddy, what makes us so different from them?"_

_"They're sub-humans- creatures, Haru."_

_"But they look like us, talk like us and play like us."_

_"It's not the same. They're repulsive, disgusting fakes who don't deserve to live. Now go on, I have work matters to attend to."_

 

_Haru hops off her father's lap and looks at him from behind his door one last time before going off to bed._

 

_"You always say that," Haru mutters quietly._

 

* * *

 

 

It was the second last time before they met again.


	4. Haruomi Hosono - Tropical Dandy (1975)

 

 

_Clones were considered dangerous and violent._

_Those captured from escaping are subjected to immediate termination._

_The same punishment applies to those who provide shelter for clones or aids them in any way._

 

 

He was in a lot of trouble, Sojiro Sakura decided. 

 

This was against the law and in a small town such as Yongen-jaya, anyone would turn the both of them in for a few thousand yen. But what was he supposed to do? Leave the child to their own demise and allow them to starve to death in the middle of winter? He wouldn't be any less heartless than a meat butcher.

He sighs in defeat and turns to look at the tiny lump hidden underneath a blanket on his beaten up couch. Long ginger hair pools at the bottom of his couch and onto his floor, causing Sojiro to shake his head incessantly. He has absolutely no idea how to go about this and he finds himself pouring his fifth drink that night under an hour.

He's sheltering a clone. 

 

How does he know this? She's got a verichip wristband around her left wrist, which is still blinking yellow- he doesn't know if that's good or bad. He has half mind to just pack up all of his belongings and leave her his house until she was found out or to let her stay in the tool shed in the garden, which would probably kill her.

He pulls out his phone and punches in a number that he hasn't rung up in a long time.

 

"Iwai, hey. It's me, Sojiro."

"Hey, man. What's up?"

"Something really bad just happened."

"I can only guess."

"It has to do with a child."

"Good God! You're a father now?"

 

"No!" Sojiro hisses into the phone, shooting a glance at the sleeping bundle. She's not making any movements- Sojiro sighs in relief.

 

"She's... she's a clone." He says quietly.

 

The line goes quiet and Sojiro's pulse quickens. Sure, Iwai and Sojiro had dealt with all sorts of stuff but clones? Whatever could he-

 

"Sojiro, you've absolutely lost it."

"I-"

"You're literally a dead man walking as of now. It'll be any damn moment before the feds come barging through your door."

'Iwai, I think she's cloned after Futaba."

"...What?"

"I wouldn't let a clone anywhere near me, but this kid rolls up on my porch with a-a plastic bag and when I saw her I just had to let her in."

 

Sojiro takes a deep breath and rubs his temples. 

 

"Iwai, you gotta help me, please-"

"Sojiro, it's been years since you.. lost her. You can't just adopt a goddamn clone and treat her like your daughter. You're seriously not thinking straight."

"I'll pay you a million yen."

"To do what exactly?"

"Extract the GPS from her forearm and to remove the verichip wristband. That's all. There's only so much tracking the feds can do- dozens of clones run off the radar every week."

"... wire it to me and I'll be over in an hour."

 

Sojiro punches the air and grins ear to ear.

 

"Thanks, man."

"I owed you one anyway. Ciao."

 

Sojiro shuts off his cell and runs over to his laptop by the kitchen counter. He logs into his E-Yen account and swiftly handles the extraction, all the while not noticing that the child had long woken up and was watching him from the couch. She sneezes and Sojiro looks up to see an exact replica of his daughter (past daughter) staring at him while shivering from the cold. It couldn't be her, anyway. She would've been in her mid-twenties by now, and the kid before him looked barely fifteen.

Sojiro moves away from the laptop and pats down on a bar stool across him, beckoning the child to have a seat. She moves cautiously to the bar stool and climbs up rather wobbly, and finds a steaming plate of curry and rice waiting for her. She looks at him questioningly and he motions his arms in a feeding motion, and she finally picks up a spoon to dig into her curry. She soon gets the hang of 'eating' and Sojiro watches her quietly as the chomps away all of her food.

 

"Lucky for you, I made more than enough for just one person. Since you can eat as much as a man, you'll probably grow up to be as manly as I am." 

 

The child doesn't really understand what he's saying, but she grins at him with a curry stained mouth anyway.

 

 

 


End file.
